Allie is a strange blind girl who wants to be a great warrior, like her brother, but can she do it without being able to see? That's where the Ranger's come in...

Allie is used to being blind; it doesn't stop her from being as adventurous as any other child. It's this adventurousness that puts her on Halt's radar, and she's offered the chance to become a Ranger. Training alongside her new friend, Will, can she overcome the handicap that she had grown so used to? Or will it be the death of her?

Mild Horace/Allie

Primarily Erak/Allie (^^trust me, it's better than it sounds^^)

Footsteps virtually silent on the soft grass, the young girl slipped between the trees, hands running over the rough bark as she passed.

Her head twitched at the sound of voices and footsteps, faint to normal hearing, and she adjusted her direction to close in on the source.

Pausing behind a tree, the girl waited as the voices stopped on the other side, conversing and utterly absorbed.

Once sure they were occupied, she found a foothold to boost herself up to the lowest branch and hauled herself up.

The wood didn't even creak under her light weight, and the child managed to climb around until she was crouched above the people she had stalked.

The slight lull in the conversation was just what she had been waiting for.

The young man, who had been chatting with a friend of his from Battleschool, jerked slightly in surprise when a weight suddenly landed on his shoulders and back.

Fortunately, the weight was so light (and he was so strong and large from training) that it did no harm.

Looking over his shoulder, he saw a mass of dark red curls and mismatched eyes, glazed over and sightless.

"Hey, Allie. Having fun?"

The child, only eight, grinned widely and nodded enthusiastically, both eyes (one a bright blue and the other a deep violet) twinkling with joy despite their blindness.

"Yup!"

Rolling his eyes heavenward, knowing that Allie couldn't tell, he smiled as his friend regained whatever wits he had left.

"I almost thought she was some kind of ghost!" The poor boy complained, adrenaline still rushing through his system.

"Coward."

The larger boy teased, plucking Allie from his back and holding the child like a sack of potatoes under one arm.

"No, John! Put me down!"

Ignoring her giggling protests, John continued the walk home, his friend jogging to catch up.

"Better get this little cub home before mom has a fit…"

Drumming her fingers against the outer wall of a building, Allie walked through the market place in search of something to do.

John had returned to Castle Redmont just last week, and the nine year old already missed him.

If she had some friends, she wouldn't have missed her brother so much, but that didn't seem possible; because of her mismatched eyes, most people in the village believed she was some sort of witch or demon.

Deep in her own misery, the child hadn't realized she was crossing in front of an alley until a sound startled her into stillness.

Allie had never heard anything so bone-chilling before, and the hairs on the back of her neck stood on-end.

It was the shriek of a wounded animal.

Moving down the side street before the noise had fully registered, she broke into a run when it reached her ears a second time.

Bumping into a few corners on unexpected turns, Allie felt like her heart was going to pound right through her ribcage.

She came upon the scene in a matter of seconds, stunned by the cacophony of screams.

The voices of at least three boys, too deep to be her age, yelled and shouted loud enough to start a headache behind her eyes at such close proximity.

The sound of wood hitting flesh became apparent next, as well as the angry hissing of a feline, and Allie realized what was happening.

Those boys were beating a defenseless cat.

Something like rage gripped her heart, a protective, primal force that made every muscle in her body tense like springs.

"Stop it!"

Everything went still for a long moment, and Allie clenched her fists to keep from swinging wildly at the cruel boys.

"Leave the kitty alone, you big meanies!"

Her head snapped towards the first one to speak, instinctively judging his height and where his face was in relation to her.

John had taught her to do that, even though it unnerved people when they found out she couldn't see.

"Well, if it isn't the village witch! Where's your bodyguard?"

Allie didn't reply, didn't even move; John had taught her to defend herself, but only if someone struck her first.

"I'll take care of her!"

Something heavy and wooden slammed into her side, and Allie let out a pained yelp before grabbing hold of the object and yanking hard.

The boy hadn't expected such a reaction and was thrown off-balance, right into Allie's carefully-placed elbow.

Blood spurted all over her arm, and Allie winced at the warm liquid as her assailant fell to the ground.

He howled in pain, most likely clutching the broken nose she had given him, and the other boys were silent.

A hoarse battle-cry warned of another attack, and she took this blow in the shoulder.

Grinding her teeth as it jarred her entire arm, Allie grabbed the weapon and shoved the other end where she thought the boy's face was.

The sound of breaking bone and a muffled cry showed that her calculations were correct.

There was no time to catch her breath; another stick of some kind caught Allie in the thigh, and the young girl whipped around to slam her fist in the offender's face.

Breathing heavily, she waited patiently for more before discovering that there had only been three boys in this little mob.

Stepping around the groaning bodies on the floor, Allie whispered soothingly to the hissing creature stuck in the corner.

"It's alright…It's alright, I'm not going to hurt you…"

Crouching a few feet from the cat despite the pain it caused in her thigh, Allie relaxed completely and held out a hand, palm down.

She stayed like that for a long time, and nearly jumped when a wet little nose sniffed warily at her fingers.

Allie didn't move a muscle until the cat purred, rubbing its head against her knuckles.

Running a hand along the feline's back as the creature pressed into her knees, Allie could feel the cuts and welts from the boys' beating and winced in sympathy.

"It's alright, kitty. I won't let anyone hurt you again."

Lifting the cat gingerly into her arms, she adjusted her grip for the wounded leg and slowly retraced her steps back to the market while soothing the poor creature.

Allie couldn't have known the reason those boys had beaten the poor cat was because of it's mismatched eyes, one blue and one purple…

"Sweetie, why don't you give this to table nine?"

Smiling brightly to soothe her mother's paranoid nerves, Allie took the tray carefully and breathed in the aroma of fresh stew.

"Okay, mom."

The taproom was full of customers, their drunken shouts ringing off the walls and making the kitchen, bustling as it was, seem silent in comparison.

Used to this by now, the twelve year old weaved through the crowds, the tray not tipping once.

A warm weight leapt up to her shoulder, and the cat she had saved three years ago purred against Allie's neck.

"Hey, Shadow. I'm looking for table nine."

It was as if the feline knew exactly what she had said; she meowed, low enough not to be heard but deeply enough to be felt, and Allie stopped on a dime.

Trusting Shadow to have led her to the right place, the blind girl put the tray down as the feline moved behind her neck; a signal that this was a stranger.

Turning her heard towards the sole occupant of the table, and hoping that her eyes didn't unnerve them, Allie smiled.

"I hope you enjoy it. Mom's stew is legendary."

There was a pause, and Allie guessed they had made some sort of gesture before realizing she couldn't see it.

"I'm sure I will."

The voice was gruff, but not unkind, and Allie found she liked this man just from hearing him.

Before she could say anything else, her father was shouting for her.

Spinning on her heel, Allie nodded her head in farewell to the stranger and headed towards the bar, side-stepping drunken singers with ease.

Jumping onto the bar, Shadow purposefully clicked her claws against the wood to lead Allie towards her father's specific location.

Once her hand landed on the smooth surface, Shadows climbed back up with a loving purr.

"Hey, Alex. Do you mind washing the tankards before the next rush?"

Suppressing a huff, Allie reasoned that there was no one else to do it, and nodded.

"Sure, dad…"